Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium simile
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Trillium.
You may enjoy Trillium in the South by Will Stuart.
Read more: Return to Oconee Station State Historic Site for more wildflowers by Jim Fowler.
Learn more about Sweet White Trillium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium simile
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium simile
SYNONYMOUS WITH Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium simile
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Trillium simile
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium simile
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-006b?:
Trillium erectum var. vaseyi FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium simile
COMMON NAME:
Sweet White Trillium, Confusing Trillium, Jeweled Trillium
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm120330_267
March Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
A maroon-flowered form.
)
JK Marlow jkm140322_374
March Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
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JK Marlow jkm140322_378
March Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
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JK Marlow jkm200321_3264
March Polk County NC
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JK Marlow jkm200321_3290
March Polk County NC
Essentially restricted to high pH soils of rich/moist hardwood forests, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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Harry Davis hld1556_a
March-April Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
Petals broad enough to overlap at base; stamens much longer than the ovary, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
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Alan Cressler alc_5695077908_013bf886c1
April Fannin County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
)
Alan Cressler alc_5695078508_7415d81023
April Fannin County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm0404m_24
April Polk County NC
Flower stalk long, held nearly erect; overlapping petals broadly ovate, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
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JK Marlow jkm140417_047
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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JK Marlow jkm140417_048
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm180414_286
April Polk County NC
purple-veined petals... (?)
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JK Marlow jkm180414_309
April Polk County NC
Petals ovate, more than 2x as broad as the sepals, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm210401_9073
April Polk County NC
Flowers have a cup-shaped profile [compare T. erectum's cup and saucer], per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
COMPARE
flowers of white-flowering Trilliums
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JK Marlow jkm210401_9077
April Polk County NC
Stamens 1.2-1.8× pistil height, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
JK Marlow jkm210401_9080
April Polk County NC
)
Keith Bradley kab_trillium_simile_0876
April Polk County NC
)
Tim Spira tpstsimile2
April
Fresh flowers have a green apple fragrance, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_trillium_simile_s
May
Stamens much longer than ovary; ovary black to purplish-black, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
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Steve Marlow snm090503_tsimile_30
May Polk County NC
Leaves solid green, rhombic, often overlapping, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Steve Marlow snm090503_tsimile_30c
May Polk County NC
Ovary dark purple and strongly angled, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium simile
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium simile
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium simile
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium simile
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Trillium simile
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium simile
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-006b?:
Trillium erectum var. vaseyi
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium simile
1556
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Very rich soils of slopes and coves over mafic or calcareous rocks, often also in or near seepage, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
A single terminal whorl of 3 leaves
Leaves sessile to subsessile
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
White
(very rarely maroon)
Pedicel 1.5-2.5x length of sepals
Flowers above the leaves
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Dark purplish-black
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p127
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p135
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p095
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p170
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p423
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p379
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p431
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p016
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